exemplet Linköpings universitet

Abstract

The academic subject Pedagogic practices is quite young. At Linköping University, it has existed since the late 1990s in teacher education. In 2000, it was established as a research subject and the first PhD students were accepted. The background to the subject's presence can be sought both nationally and locally. As regards the national background, a natural starting point is the Teacher Education Committee’s final report. Teacher education should have a connection between undergraduate, postgraduate and research. For example, in addition to already established research areas such as Education, a research ”subject” with a multidisciplinary orientation may constitute an orientation. The description of the field of pedagogic practices was lett open, and we indicated that it was inappropriate to give a clear definition of the term. Instead, the area should find its shape in retrospect through the activities that will be undertaken. What we saw was a central area of competence in the present, which in our opinion was about the experience of moving between the normative and the descriptive. We, as our specialty, wanted to see this to establish a link between the practical aspects of professional work and various theoretical frameworks. This should be developed in the light of the education’s high school skills and the research that was built around teacher education. We suggested that practical education and research were considered activities such as is in a conceptual field where practical and interdisciplinary relevance forms two axes. To strive for all teaching and research at the same time to be of high practical use, and in-depth relevance, would be inappropriate. What should instead be pursued was that the practical education and research area as a whole ranked optimally between the two extremes. Well worth discussing is how a practical field of research, such as pedagogical practices, should relate to theories in general. To what extent should the research be theoretical or practical? Do we want to see a research that works deductively or inductively? However, we think that in practice we have shown that this can work and result in a good postgraduate education.